I noticed an article in the Flimsies section promoting a Hobo Festival. Am I too stuffy or does anyone else cringe when a railroad museum holds an event like this. Is there a way to do the history of hobos without glamorizing it?

Never actually seen one, though I once saw a well-done dramatic portrayal by an actor for a museum group.

Yes, it can be done. The problem is that those who usually "promote" the "hobo" lifestyle through such festivals usually have a sharply different agenda than most museums/operations would want to depict--starting with "riding the rails" illegally. I think most of the characters now presenting themselves as "hobos" have as much to do with the reality of the old hobos as fake diamond stacks, garish paint, and Wild West train robberies do with railroading, and thus their romantic notions should be equally discouraged.

That said, I could easily see a dramatic portrayal of a "hobo camp" today, with the hobos talking about how and why they were forced to ride the rails, the differences between hobos and bums ("a hobo is willin' to work; a bum jes' wants a handout"), a real comparison with the current homeless situation in America today, the hobos lamenting why no one can ride the rails today ("There's gang members out there waiting to kill you; there's no place to ride safely anymore; you get killed by shifting loads; so few empty cars anymore........"

So, yes, show the hobos. Show the reality of that era. But take away the romance and show why they should be history while you're at it.

Is held annually in Britt Iowa. First convention was in 1900.

http://brittiowa.com/hobo/logo-symbols.htm